Why did you decide to join NEM Zagreb’s TV Writing Contest as a member of the preselection’s independent jury?
MIDPOINT’s main objective is to be discovering new talents from the Central and Eastern European region. In that regard, we were very eager to get to know what are the new or pehaps even more established names in television writing. It is equally interesting for us to nurture and develop new industry partnerships.
What did you think about the submitted scenarios – did any idea stand out from the others?
It was an interesting observation to follow the various recurring streams of themes or genres in the submissions: a lot of them were addressing a “coming-of-age” or “breaking free” story in one way or the other, several showed interest the mystery/horror/supernatural genre, and quite a few presented a society that is making peace with a trauma of the past, standing up to the post-war or post-Soviet reality, many times reflecting a technocratic culture.
What would be your general advice for all NEM Zagreb’s TV Writing Contest applicants?
To try to focus on their own voice, the stories that scratch them the most and get to their core, the ones they are most passionate about and make them tick.
Is there a recipe for writing a successful TV project?
Probably the same as mentioned in the previous question – the more authentic, “true” the story is – even if it’s a sci-fi horror – the more universal and captivating the project can get.
